Birthday playlist: Best of Lata Mangeshkar

New Delhi: If there is someone whose name can be mentioned in the same breath as the playback singing in India, its Lata Mangeshkar. Today, the nightingale of India has turned 83; she was born on September 29, 1929.

The melody queen says she will always regret not giving classical music enough time.

Lata has not many wishes that have remained unfulfilled but the melody queen says she will always regret not giving classical music enough time. "I feel really lucky that people still love me. I am at peace but it is hard for a human being to be completely satisfied. I have only one regret that I could not give enough time to classical music after coming into films," Lata told PTI in an interview. "It was my wish to sing classical songs on stage but I could never get enough time," she added. Lata started her classical music training from Ustad Amanat Ali Khan in 1945 but he left for Pakistan after the Partition. After that, Lata learnt classical music from Amanat Khan Devaswale and Pandit Tulsidas Sharma, a pupil of Ustad Bade Ghulam Ali Khan. Though she started singing at the age of 13, Lata got her first major break in Hindi cinema by composer Ghulam Haider. He asked her to sing 'Dil mera toda' in 1948 film 'Majboor'. But it was 'Aayega Aanewaala' from 1949 'Mahal' that catapulted her to success. Composed by music director Khemchand Prakash and lip-synced on screen by Madhubala, the song became a rage, announcing the arrival of Lata. She has recorded songs for over a thousand Bollywood movies and has sung songs in over thirty-six regional Indian languages and foreign languages. Her major work, however, remains in Hindi. Recipient of the Bharat Ratna, the highest civilian award of the country, Lata has sung for generations of Bollywood actresses from Madhubala to Kajol. (With inputs from PTI)####